Sport shoe

ABSTRACT

AN ATHLETICS SHOE MADE OF FABRIC AND HAVING A LONGITUDINAL DIVISION ON ITS UPPER ON WHICH IS PROVIDED ADJACENT ONE EDGE OF THE DIVISION AT LEAST ONE STRAP EXTENDING ACROSS THE DIVISION AND HAVING A MULTITUDE OF SMALL BARDS ON ITS UNDERSIDE AND ADJACENT THE OTHER EDGE OF THE DIVISION A ROUGH FACING WITH WHICH THE BARBS OF THE STRAP CAN ENGAGE TO FORM A SEPARABLE FASTENER.

Dec. 14, 1971 RDASSLER SPORT SHOE Filed Hatch 13, 1969 IN VEN TOR.

RUDGLF DIILIA W7/ww www?,

ATTQ RME VS United States Patent O Inf. cl. Aish 23/00 U.S. Cl. 36--50 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An athletics shoe made of fabric and having a longitudinal division on its upper on which is provided adjacent one edge of the division at least one strap extending across the division and having a multitude of small barbs on its underside and adjacent the other edge of the division a rough facing with which the barbs of the strap can engage to form a separable fastener.

This invention relates to an athletics shoe, particularly a track shoe, having a longitudinal division in its upper over the instep that can be closed up to secure the shoe on a foot.

In the conventional arrangement, the shoe upper is provided on each side of the division therein with eyelets for laces which must be done up and undone when the shoe is put on and taken off. An objectionable feature of this arrangement is that the tension of the lace, when done up and the ends thereof tied together, distributes itself evenly along the length of the division in the shoe lupper and therefore applies the same pressure to all parts of the wearers foot. For an athlete it would often be far more desirable to do up the laces to provide unequal pressure, i.e. so that they are slacker in the middle and tight at one end at least. Another drawback of laces is that they necessitate the provision of the above-mentioned eyelets.

According to the present invention these difficulties are resolved by providing along one side of the longitudinal division in the shoe upper a rough facing which cooperates with straps attached to the other side of the division and having a multitude of small barbs on their undersides to provide a self-adhering fastening.

With a particular advantage a self-adhering fastener, also known as a Velcro (trademark) tape may be used which consists of a tape having a warp thread fastener of multilar synthetics and a tape with a multitude of small barbs of monoiilar warp threads.

Such a fastener for doing up the longitudinal division of a sports shoe has the advantage of permitting the tightness of the fastening at different points to be selected as desired besides eliminating the need for the hitherto indispensable eyelets. A particularly useful feature is that the sports shoe can be undone and done up much more quickly because the straps provided with the barbs need merely be pressed down on the rough facing and then pulled off as desired.

Whereas hitherto the uppers of a sports shoe had to be made of thin leather, such as kangaroo leather, to provide the necessary strength for supporting the eyelets for threading the laces, the uppers of a shoe according to the invention may consist of nylon fabric, parachute silk and such like woven fabric. This considerably reduces the 3,626,610 Patented Dec. 14, 1971 ice weight of the shoe which is of advantage in the case of a shoe which is desired to be of minimum weight. Moreover, the arrangement may comprise securing adjacent the edges of the longitudinal division in the shoe upper a reinforcement made of a strong and non-tearing material, such as leather, preferably kangaroo leather, for the reception of the elements of the fastening, i.e. the tape containing the warp thread loops on the one hand and the straps with the barbs on the other. The upper may also be provided with reinforcements at the heel cap and the toe and these reinforcements may be tacked to the sole in the manner conventional for securing uppers.

Furthermore, the uppers may be further provided with facings of strong and non-tearing materials, such as leather and preferably kangaroo leather, for taking up the longitudinal and transverse loads in the known manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. l is a perspective view of a track shoe, and FIG. 2 is the same shoe in cross section.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION In the illustrated embodiment, the shoe upper 1 consists of parachute silk, nylon fabric or a material of similar properties. Along the longitudinal division (hitherto for the lacing) a reinforcement 2 is provided which consists of a strong tear-resistant material, such as leather, preferably kangaroo leather. The tongue 3 is made of a soft material.

The straps 4 which are attached for instance by sewing to one side of the opening dividing the upper are provided on their undersides with a large number of barbs 4a. If the fastening is a self-adhering pull-olf fastener, the underside of the straps are provided with a multitude of small barbs of monolar warp threads. The coarse cloth facing 5 is applied to the other side of the division. In the case of a self-adhering pull-off fastener this coarse cloth is covered with a tape 5a containing warp thread loops of multilar synthetics. When the straps 4 are pressed down on this facing 5 they are at once reliably held, forming a completely satisfactory fastening.

The upper 1 may also be provided on each side with conventional reinforcements 6 which take up the longitudinal and transverse loads.

It is also desirable to provide the upper at the heel cap and the toe with reinforcements 7 and 8 which may likewise consist of leather, such as kangaroo leather. These reinforcements as well as the reinforcing straps 6, as will be understood from FIG. 2, are likewise tacked to the sole 9.

Naturally the heel cap may also have a stiifening insertion as is conventional.

I claim:

1. A track shoe comprising in combination:

a sole and an upper made of woven fabric and secured to the sole, said upper including a slot lengthwise withl reference t0 the sole and dening iirst and second elongate edge portions;

reinforcement strips made of tear resistant material secured to said upper substantially parallel t0 said edge portions;

a plurality of pliable tie straps each secured at one end to one of said reinforcement strips in spaced apart and mutually substantial parallel relationship, said straps having a length suicient to extend across said slot with overlap;

a multitude of barbs on the underside of each of said straps, said barbs occupying an elongate area on the free end portion of each strap; and

a strip having on one side a multitude of densely disposed loop elements secured with its other side upon the other one of said reinforcement strips along the length of the slot, the barbs on any portion of the area occupied by the same on the straps being releasably retained by the loop elements upon pressing the barbs on the straps against the loop elements.

2. The track shoe according to claim 1 wherein cover pieces reinforce the tip and a heel cap of the upper, said cover pieces extending with one edge between the sole and the inturned upper and secured thereto.

3. The track shoe according to claim 2 wherein said reinforcement strips and cover pieces are made of kangaroo leather.

4. The track shoe according to claim 2 wherein said 4 reinforcement strips are secured to said upper, said further strips extending substantially from the area of the upper above the heel cap of the shoe to the toe portion of the upper for reinforcing the upper against lengthwise and crosswise stresses.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,104,479 9/1963 DAmico Z-VEL DIG 3,106,790 10/1963 Zimmon 36-50 X 3,156,987 11/1964 Dassler 36-2.5 (113) FOREIGN PATENTS 1,258,562 3/1961 France 36-2.5 A

809,145 7/1951 Germany 36-25 (113) 1,014,462 8/1957 Germany 36-2.5 (113) 1,043,723 9/1966 Great Britain 36--50 ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 36-25 AM 

